The Internationalization of Corporate R&D

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CORPORATE R&DAfter 2001, students from developing countries in Norway can take residence aftercompleting a higher education. There are ideas in Europe to establish an EU-wide“green card” for highly skilled workers coming from outside the E.U. (EC 2005b). Asimilar idea has been suggested in the U.S., that every foreign student who earns adoctoral degree should also get a green card granting permanent residency.Tax discounts are provided by several countries to attract foreign skilled workers(Australia, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the U.K.). In Denmark aspecial 25 percent tax scheme was designed and implemented to provide favorableconditions for skilled foreign workers and researchers. The scheme also applies toDanish expatriates returning from abroad (OECD 2005c). Sweden introduced an experttax rate in 2001. The 25 percent tax relief on income can be utilized for foreign personnelfor three years (NIFU 2005). The Swedish expert tax has been evaluated by theSwedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies (ITPS) during 2005/06.Policies to attract skilled people from large Diasporas have been put in place bycountries like Korea and China. Taiwan was one of the first countries to systematicallytry repatriating foreign researchers and engineers. Policies to support returninghighly skilled workers include fellowship programs (Federation Fellowships inAustralia), awards for supporting higher salaries (targeted grants in Finland) andfixed-period tenure at a university or research institution (Italy). Several networkinginitiatives have been launched to link foreign researchers and engineers to theirhome countries, for example the German Academic International Network (GAIN)and ERA-Link at the European level (for an overview, see Reggiani 2005).Finally, to promote increased talent mobility, some policymakers are addressing otherbarriers, such as culture and language obstacles, accreditation of academic qualifications(e.g. the Bologna Declaration in Europe; see Regeringskansliet 2005c for thegovernment’s proposal to internationalize Swedish universities), as well as science andtechnology regulations (ethics, safety and intellectual property regulations). Within theE.U. for example, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.K. have moreliberal legislation governing responsible stem cell research.1.2.4 Maximize Economic Benefits and Minimize NegativeEffects (D)At the final policy level, R&D internationalization is placed in its economic and socialcontext. Governments need to find ways to (D1) stimulate downstream economic activitiesstemming from R&D efforts and (D2) support the transition for individuals andregions as a result of innovative activities and industry restructuring.46